Base for the game of baseball



June 30, 1936. H. B. LATINA BASE FOR THE GAME OF BASEBALL Filed July 15,1935 3 Sheets-Sheet l firroeA/EKS J1me 1936? H. B. LATINA BASE FOR THEGAME OF BASEBALL Filed July 15, 1935 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 bw/fi/vroe. HARRY5. LAT/NA. BMW

14 r roe/vars H. B. LATINA BASE FOR THE GAME OF BASEBALL June 30, 1936.

Filed July 15, 1935 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 4T To ENE K5.

Patented June 30, 1936 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2,046,126 7 BASE roaTHE GAME OF BASEBALL Harry]; Latina, East St. Louis, 111., assignor toRawlings Manufacturing Company, St. Louis, Mo., a corporation ofMissouri Application July 15, 1935, Serial No. 31,344 4. Claims. (01.273-25) This invention relates to ariov'el' baseball base.

The" conventional base" u's'd'in the game of baseball-is' compos'edof'a'c'as'ing made of canvas or other suitable fabric filled with hair orthe like} and provided with one or more straps or strips ofwebbingtli'at pass through eyes or loops in retaining pins or egs"which'are inserted in the ground to hold the base'm position. Due to thefact that the shoesof baseball players are invariably equipped withnests or other sharp metallic anti-slipping devices, the casing of abaseball base'is very'apt'to between or torn by the shoesoif'theplayers. Whenfthi's'happen s, it is necessary tocompletelyrebuild'th' base, as

it 'i's'im'possibl'e to repair or renew the casing'without firstremoving the paddin'g'orstufiing material; Hence, the cost ofkeeping'baseball bases ina usable conditionfis an itembf considerableexpense to a ball'club.

Myinventionhas'for as'mam object to pro; vide a; baseball base thatcanbe repairedqliickly and easily and at a fractionof thecostofirepairing a conventional base wh'osecasinghas become turner out. 7 m

Another; object of the invention is topr ovide a baseballbase, whichisof such' assign or constru tion that the straps or strips' which securethe base to the'groundar'e' concealed from' yiew and di s posed insuchawaythat they "cannot'possibly' form an externaf'projection on the basethat is liable to trip and throw a player.

To this end I propose to equip a baseball base with a removable cover orouter casing, separate and distinct from the casing that confines thehair or other padding material of the base, and mounted on or combinedwith the stuffed or padded part of the base in such a way that itconceals the portions of the retaining straps or strips used to securethe base to the ground. Said outer casing is preferably made of heavycanvas or other relatively strong, closely woven fabric, and it can becombined with the padded part of the base or held in operative positionthereon in various ways without departing from the spirit of myinvention.

Figure 1 of the drawings is an exploded view of my improved base,showing the inner, padded or stuffed part of the base, and the outerpart consisting of a removable cover or casing separate and distinctfrom the casing of said inner part.

Figure 2 is a bottom plan view, illustrating the method of applying theouter part or cover to the inner, padded part of the structure.

Figure 3 is a bottom plan view of the structure 55 shown in Figures 1and 2, after the removable outer'casing has been installed and confinedin position.

Figure 4is an edge view of my improved base, showing it attached to theground.

Figure 5 is a vertical transverse sectional view 5 of said base. r

Figures 6 and '7 arebottom planviews. I Figures 8 and 9 are perspectiveviews, illustratingother forms of my invention.

Figure 10 is an exploded-view of a base con- 10 structed in accordancewith my invention, in which the retaining straps or strips that securethe structure to the ground, are attached directly to the removableouter casing; 1 a

V Figure=11 is a bottom plan view'of the structure [5 shown in Figure10, afterthe removable outer casinghas been installed; and 1 Figure 12is a perspective view of still another form of my invention in whichtheremovable outer casing is composed of a top piece and abot- 20 tompiece detachably connected together by straps and buckles. I

Referring to Figures 1 to 5, inclusive, of the drawings, A designates aconventional baseball base composed of a fabric casing filled with 5curled-hair 2 or other suitable stufiing or padding material, andprovided on its under side with slits through which oneor more straps orstrips- 3 of webbing or the like are inserted in -such a waythat saidstrips extend transversely of the base 30 on the interior of same, andthen transversely across the underside of the base through loops or eyes4 in pegs 5 that are adapted to be forced into the ground, so as to holdthe base in position, said retaining straps or strips 3 being provided35 With buckles 6. In order to protect the base A from injury, it isprovided with a removable outer cover B, made of canvas or othersuitable fabric, and constructed in such a way that it can be easilyremoved from or applied to said base. In 40 the event said cover Bbecomes torn or ripped, it can be easily removed and repaired orreplaced at a fraction of the cost of repairing or replacing the casingl of a conventional baseball base which surrounds and confines thepadding or stufiing material of the base. To state it in another way, atear or rip in the fabric casing of a conventional base makes itnecessary to remove the stuinng material 2, then repair the casing l orsubstitute a new casing, and then refill or restuff said casing, whichprocedure is relatively costly. With my improved base, if the outercasing B becomes torn or ripped, it can be easily taken off andrepaired, and replaced without disturbing the stuffing material 2 of thebase, due, of course, to the fact that said stufilng material isconfined. in a separate casing I. Moreover, a tear or rip in the outercasing B will not render the base unusable, because said outer cover Bis not relied upon to hold or confine the stufling material of the base.In the form of my invention illustrated in Figures 1 to 5, inclusive;the outer casing B is of substantially box shape in general form oroutline, and. the sides or edge portions :1: of same which depend fromthe top piece, are provided with a plurality of tapered or wedge-shapedflaps .l,

which are disposed on the underside of the inner part A of thestructure, said flaps being provided with open-ended casings 8 throughwhich a draw,-

string 9 is inserted, as shown in Figure 2. The 1 flaps I are alsoprovided with slits I0 through which the retaining straps 3 pass, asshown in Figure 2, said slits Hi preferably having reinforcements W ofleather or other suitable material. After the outer casing B has beenslipped over the base A, the drawstring 9 istightened so as to confinesaid casing in position and cause it to snugly embrace thebase A and liesmooth thereon. The retaining'straps or strips 3 are then insertedthrough theslits in the flaps of the outer casing and throught the slitsin the inner stuffed part A of thestructure, and after the pegs 5 havebeen strung onsaid retaining straps 3, the buckles.

6 of said straps are tightened; thereby securely binding the removableouter casing B to the stuffed or padded part A of the base in such a waythat it is impossible for said outer casing to become accidentallydisplaced.

Inasmuch as the retaining straps 3 pass through the flaps l of theremovableouter casing B, the

. drawstring previously mentioned may be omitted,

as shown in Figure 6. Nor is it essential that the casing B as beingformed by a top part that covers the top face and side edges of the baseA, and a bottom part l that is detachably connected to said top part bya lacing 9 Figure 9 illustrates a similar structure in which the toppart of the outer casing'has slit corners that are laced together.

Instead of using a lacing or lacings to detachably some of said flaps.

connect the top and bottom parts of the outer casing B together, saidparts may be held together by straps 9 provided with buckles, as shownin Figure 12.

While I prefer to construct my improved base so that the retainingstraps or strips which con-,

nect the structure to the ground, pass through the stuffed inner part Aof the structure, as preretaining straps or strips and prevents themfrom forming external projections on the structure that might be liableto trip and throw a player.

, Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent is: I V 7 1. A removable casing for a baseballbase, made of canvas or the like and provided with flaps adapted to bepositioned on the underside of said base, said flaps having reinforcedslits that are adapted to receive a retaining strap for securing thebase to the ground. 7

2. A removable casing for a baseball base, made of canvas or the likeand provided with flaps adapted to be positioned on the underside ofsaid 7 7 base, and a drawstring arranged in casings in said flaps fordrawing said casing into snug engage-- ment with the base. I

3. A removable casing fora baseball base provided with a portion that isadapted to lie on the underside of the base, said portion having slitsvided with a plurality of flaps adapted to be positioned on theunderside of the base, and a retaining strap for securing the structureto the ground, adapted to be arranged transversely across the undersideof the casing and positioned in slits in

